3DS price-drop targets 'explosive' year-end sales - Iwata
Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata has said the firm acted early with its announcement of the drastic 3DS price cut because it needed to accelerate sales BEFORE the holiday shopping season.
"We feel that those who have experienced the system appreciate its attraction, but this appreciation has not necessarily been expanding at the speed which we had expected," he said. Nintendo, he added, hopes that dropping the price now, rather than waiting for the holiday season like normal, will hopefully accelerate sales enough to take full advantage of the key titles coming up (Super Mario 3D Land, Mario Kart 7).
"Without creating such a circumstance, we would not be able to realize explosive sales in the year-end sales season," he said. He's also hoping the move will coax in developers who are on the fence. "Software publishers are currently reviewing which development teams will work on which projects, and the results of which shall be launched next year and beyond. Removing their concerns on the sales of Nintendo 3DS hardware will be very critical for us to be able to enrich the applicable software in the years to come."
"Even though we understand this, for us to elevate Nintendo 3DS to be the platform that can sustain our business, we have concluded that we need to take the best possible measure we can take now, even at the cost of short-term profitability," said Iwata.
The decision to slash the price of the 3DS less than six months into its lifetime wasn't part of Nintendo's original strategy, but Iwata said it would help retailers plan for the end-of-year sales period and encourage developers to stick with the platform. The company will now reportedly make a loss on every 3DS sold.
http://www.computerandvideogames.com...d-sales-iwata/
